The Great American Read Coming to PBS

If there’s one thing I’m sure we can all agree it’s that there aren’t enough books on the television, but all that is about to change with several bookish shows lined up this year. Just a few weeks ago we brought you the news that Zoe Ball is to front a television bookclub in the UK and now it’s announced that an eight part series ‘The Great American Read’ is to air on PBS.

The eight part series will explore and celebrate the power of reading through what has been chosen as America’s 100 best-loved novels. It looks at fictional worlds, how readers are affected by these stories and what the books have to say about the diverse nation and shared human experience in the USA.

Full of documentary segments, testimonials from authors, notable Americans and book lovers it kicks off with a two-hour launch episode where the top 100 books will be revealed. The series will then continue with hour long themed episodes looking at the books on the list with a finale in which the results of a nationwide vote to find America’s best loved book are announced.

Around 7,200 people participated in a YouGov survey to select the top 100 books, with some stipulations. Each author was only allowed one book in the list, to keep the list varied and only fiction was included.

Many people just pick up a book, read it and decide from there whether they love it or not, for others the gender of the author is important. The gender gap in literature has been present for years, perpetuated through history by male nom de plumes and lack of respect generally for female literature.

Some bookshops have even gone so far as to create visual experiments to show how many of the shelves are dominated by male authors.

We all know reading is about quality not quantity but with so many books on the TBR it’s great to be able to power through them quicker than most. According to the Pew Research Center, the average American who reads gets through twelve books a year, and now you can find out your reading speed with this new test.

Lenstore has devised a test to measure your individual reading skills and see how long it will take you to tackle the world’s most popular novels. Take the rest below and see how you fare!Read More

So the new trailer for the television adaptation of Good Omens is here, and according to co-author Neil Gaiman, it contains clues to the release date of the show. As yet all that has been announced is that it will be released in the spring, and the trailer concurs, but Gaiman promises a hidden message.

The trailer is just mostly scrolling explanatory text that explains the apocalyptic plot, can you find the hidden clues? Here it is.Read More

It feels like we’ve been waiting for an age for season two of American Gods. The adaptation from the Neil Gaiman novel has been fantastic and season one got things off to a brilliant start.

Season one introduced us to Shadow Moon, who the story revolves around as he meets Wednesday, Mad Sweeney and the rest of the gods in what was a visual treat with some fantastic special effects. The adaptation received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Main Title Design and Outstanding Special Visual Effects and three nominations in the Critics’ Choice Television awards including Best Drama, Best Actor (McShane) and Best Supporting Actress (Gillian Anderson).

Reading is one of the best ways to relax, de-stress and lose yourself in a world of your choosing. Whether you enjoy thrillers, romances or non-fiction, reading is something we should all do more of. Many of us are guilty of spending too much time looking at our screens when we could be spending our time more wisely finishing that book that’s been collecting dust at our bedside. If you are losing touch with the reading bug, here are four tips to help you read more.Read More

It’s been billed as a groundbreaking moment in television, Bandersnatch from Black Mirror is a choose your own adventure movie, similar to the books that were famous in the 1980s.

I loved the 1980s books but in a scene reminiscent to the show itself, publishers ChooseCo is suing Netflix for $25 million, or the profits for the episode, claiming that the streaming service infringed on its trademarked format for the Black Mirror: Bandersnatch movie.